Teenager brags about bank robbery on YouTube before getting arrested

Detailed on USA Today, a 19-year-old Nebraska girl named Hannah Sabata was arrested on November 28 after she posted a YouTube video bragging about stealing a car and robbing a local bank. Posted on the same day of her arrest, the seven-minute YouTube video shows Sabata holding several thousand dollars in cash as well as handwritten signs explaining her various misdeeds. Even including a written confession in the YouTube video description, Sabata writes “I just stole a car and robbed a bank. Now I’m rich, I can pay off my college financial aid and tomorrow i’m going for a shopping spree. Bite me. I love GREENDAY!“

Sabata was referring to a robbery at the Cornerstone bank in Waco, Nebraska. According to an account in The Independent, a female bank robber told a female teller that she had a gun and she had two minutes to hand over a pile of cash. Bank employees didn’t see any weapon in her hand, however company policy dictates that the bank employee complies with the request. The teller handed over the money in her drawer and the bank robber exited the building.

Sheriff Dale Radcliff of the York County police department announced a physical description of the female bank robber to the media as well as a description of the stolen silver Pontiac Grand Am that was used as a getaway vehicle. Radcliff also released photographs of the bank robber standing at the teller’s window.

Amazingly, many of these details are included in the video that Sabata posted on YouTube. In regards to the stolen car, Sabata wrote “My new car is shiny. Of course I took the plates off already,” on one of the written notes in the video. She also wrote “I robbed a bank with a gun, a pillow case and a note,” as well as “I told my mom today was the best day of my life. She just thinks I met a new boy.” Sabata also claimed that she was a “victim of the government” referencing an incident where Nebraska state officials removed a child from her care and charged Sabata with neglect according to USA Today.

In addition, the video shows Sabata in the exact same clothes that the female suspect wore during the robbery at the Cornerstone bank. During the YouTube video, Sabata is seen fanning herself with the $6,256 in cash as well as showing off the various denominations of the bills. According to local police, they recovered all but $30 of the money that Sabata allegedly stole from the bank and flashed on camera during the video.

On the arrest affidavit, police were informed about Sabata’s possible involvement in the Cornerstone bank robbery due to a text message that she send out to a friend stating that she had over $6,000 in her possession. After taking Sabata into custody at her home in Stromsburg, Nebraska, the York County police charged her with robbery and theft of a motor vehicle. According to Sheriff Radcliff, a copy of the YouTube video confession was acquired and will be used as evidence if Sabata goes to trial. Photos of Sabata’s arrest can be viewed on York News-Times.